2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits[b] for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.

The author of the Thessalonican letter encourages the faithful, “brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us.”

Traditions.

We are entering the season of traditions-Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, Kwanza, Watch Night and many others. Most of us, depending on our families, have various traditions we observe over the holidays.

Specifically, many families have unique Thanksgiving traditions that they strive to adhere to year after year. I’m kind of curious, does your family have any particular traditions that are unique to your family?

In my family, one of the traditions at Thanksgiving is noodles. Over the years we have had turkey, tofurkey, vegan. regardless, we have always had noodles. I didn’t realize that not everybody has noodles at Thanksgiving until I was an adult.

But on our thanksgiving table, there will always be a big bowl of noodles. A glob of mashed potatoes in the middle of the plate smothered with noodles makes a sweet center piece of the Thanksgiving plate.

What about you- any unique traditions?

In church life, traditions are really important. They help keep us grounded. They help us remember. They help us practice who we are.

Of course, traditions can also be silly and out of touch. It is important not to do something just because we always do it that way. There must be value and meaning for a tradition to be helpful.

At Second Baptist Church, we have a handful of traditions which are important to us. Ideals and practices that have been around a long time, some since the beginning, that help define who we are.

We have long had the tradition of freedom and openness.

Embracing the historic Baptist doctrines of soul liberty and priesthood of the believer, we have always encouraged folks to think for themselves, to ask hard questions, to challenge pastors’ and teachers’ points of view, to strive to understand.

We have a tradition of being a diverse and multicultural church. Though we trace our beginnings back to 1833, we were actually a part of the very first Baptist congregation in St. Louis in 1818. The congregation was made up of white folks of European dissent, free Africans and slaves. Diversity was imperative to the original vision of John Mason Peck.

Prominent in that congregation were Mary and John Berry Meachum. John was a Pastor. Mary was an essential part of the St. Louis underground railroad helping slaves cross from Missouri to Illinois via the Mississippi River. Mary is memorialized by the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing down at the river. Who has been there? It is very cool.

The original congregation, with its multi-ethnic membership has set a pattern for this church throughout its history.

Another of our traditions is a profound respect and love for the Scripture.

Perhaps you have heard the old saying,

“The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it.” I think I had a button with that saying printed on it pinned to my backpack when I was a Junior in High School.

While this saying may be popular among many church folks, it does not reflect what we mean when we say we have a profound respect for Scripture.

We respect the Scripture enough to refuse to turn it into a simple answer book that supplies benign answers to the big questions.

At Second Baptist Church, we might say the bible says this or that, and We have interpreted it thusly. And perhaps we have interpreted correctly and perhaps incorrectly and so the best thing We can do is listen and learn as We interact with others as they share what they believe about this or that.

Or we might say that the Bible says this thing, but it is impossible for us to understand it fully without understanding its context, history and linguistic elements. Therefore to be a good student of scripture means that we are always learning and striving, never settling. And as we learn, some of our interpretations of scripture just might change, and we consider that to be spiritual growth.

Or we might say that the Bible says this or that, but we understand the Scripture from a Christ-centric point of view and therefore we interpret the scripture based on who Jesus is and what Jesus said. Therefore, to understand the scripture is to understand it in the context of Jesus’ love and grace.

Still another of our great traditions is that we have always cared about our community. From the very beginning, Second Baptist Church has been a leader in community ministry from establishing orphanages, working for Justice for the under resourced, and establishing churches in our expanding community. Out in the Narthex is a framed document listing 19 churches founded by Second Baptist Church.

Yet another of our great traditions is our desire to cooperate with other churches and to work with other religious groups and community organizations.

Our close and unique relationship with a Jewish synagogue led to our being kicked out of the state denominational organization at one point.

We choose to believe that we should celebrate truth and beauty wherever they are found. And so we stand with all those seek truth, justice and mercy through the practice of kindness and grace.

And we realize we have much to learn from others who have traveled a different path than us.

And all these traditions settle under the umbrella of the greatest tradition of Second Baptist Church and that is the tradition of love. We say it all the time, One of this church’s greatest assets is its heart.

Love for God

Love for each other

Love for our creation

Love for our neighbor

Love for the stranger

Love for the hurting and left behind.

60 years ago, Pastor Leon Robinson, wrote a piece intended to give voice to the traditions that define our church.

‘The Second Baptist Church stands for freedom of the individual in all matters of faith and practice of religion. Such a belief and such a spirit is a challenge to live with all one's powers and creativeness in fulfilling God's purpose.

Tradition is worthless if it does not give strength and vision for the present and hope for the future. The tradition of freedom in this Church is truly a spirit which has been passed on to our generation. It is the very atmosphere of our Church, the refreshing air we breathe.

Belief in freedom means that we believe in one another; it means we place the highest value in people, and the individuality of people; it means that we believe that life's highest experience is the experience of a person with God through Jesus Christ, and that no person shall be limited or thwarted in this experience but encouraged and strengthened.

In this Church, therefore, it is not agreement that we seek, but truth, vision and friendship in order to build the bonds of unity for service to God. Freedom to believe does not mean that we are without belief or believe in less, but rather it is a challenge to believe more; and with fervor to search out the infinite possibilities for the enrichment of our faith.

With our heritage which has given us beautiful buildings and fine facilities, there has been the constant temptation to place our hope in things and numbers. We are too often dependent on attendance records and financial reports. But basically our hope is not in numbers or in things, but rather in a quality of life expressed through individuals and groups working with thoroughness in the achievement of the purposes of Christ.

The pioneering spirit has led us to reach out continually into new areas to anticipate and meet the needs of people. But variety and novelty are never our aim, and our goals must never be dimmed with a multitude of activities. Our goals are

A deepening of our individual devotion to God;

the development of a closer friendship between all our members;

the extension of the ways of cooperation with other religious groups;

and the building of a greater awareness of human need at home and throughout the world.

All this with the fervent hope that God will use us for God’s purposes through Second Baptist Church.”

“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught.”

Amen.